At the start of World War I, thousands of soldiers were coming down with a baffling condition: they became blind, deaf, lost their memory, or developed uncontrollable shaking despite no obvious physical injury. Even stranger, this malady could be triggered by memories of the war even after the fighting had ended. At the time, doctors […]
Read MoreListen Up! Scientists need your help with a variety of audio-based research projects. Monitor noise levels near you; record sparrows’ songs to discover variations; track killer whales through audio recordings; and more! Below, our editors highlight four citizen science projects focused on sounds. Find more with the SciStarter Project Finder. Cheers! The SciStarter Team
Read MoreListen. Let’s get one thing straight: I am an unabashed public radio nerd. So, when citizen science and public radio come together, I am nothing short of ecstatic. But it’s not just my public radio nerdiness for its own sake. Rather, this convergence speaks to a larger narrative (for me, at least) — that of […]
Read MoreThis week on The Pulse and SciStarter’s segment about citizen science, producer Kimberly Haas speaks with Dan Duran, who is running a project that monitors the elusive Elaphrus beetle to monitor stream health. Read WHYY’s related blog post to learn more. Here’s an excerpt: Dan Duran, assistant professor in Drexel University’s Department of Biodiversity, Earth […]
Read MoreNoiseTube allows citizen scientists to monitor noise pollution with a mobile app. Come to your senses! SciStarter has curated a list of projects for all 5 senses. I was overjoyed the first time I heard the peaceful fountain, twittering bird song, and gentle rustle of wind through the trees oustide my office window. Then, one […]
Read MoreListen up! Our editors sniffed out a list of projects to lay your hands on and sink your teeth into. See for yourself! The Smell Experience Project Changes in odor perception can be a symptom of a disease or a side effect of medication. Smell Experience Researchers need your help to better understand changes in […]
Read MoreInvestigating Word Modalities seeks citizen scientists to help investigate words attached to senses. SciStarter is shuffling science into the language department. Explore the science of words with these citizen science projects! Modality describes a pathway in the body through which a stimulus is registered. It essentially refers to one of the five senses. For example, […]
Read MoreThe hills are alive with citizen science. More musical projects for your ears and brain. This morning, I woke up after a good night’s rest, ready to take on the world. I was still lying in bed, thinking about how great it would be if I could just lace up and go out for a […]
Read MoreAbsolute pitch, also known as “perfect pitch” is the ability to instantaneously identify a musical note or recreate that note without an external reference. It is not fully understood why some people have perfect pitch and others do not, but it seems to require both an innate predisposition as well as musical training. Do you […]
Read MoreThe hills are alive with the sound of citizen science (and music)! Calling all music enthusiasts–the Bodleian Libraries are enlisting the help of the public in order to improve access to their music collections. About sixty-four boxes filled with unbound, uncatalogued sheet music from the mid-Victorian period has been digitized for public access. Although this […]
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